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Travelling solo is something we’ve all yearned for, especially those of us who have read Eat, Pray, Love at least three times. However, the fear of the unknown can prevent us from exploring all this planet has to offer. That’s why the team at Shemazing have teamed up with some of the most inspiring and empowering ladies, who have travelled alone. Their stories will educate you, inspire you and leave you itching to catch the next flight out of your hometown.

In the second instalment of our series Travelling Light, we speak to Lauren Pears about her solo cycle from London to Istanbul.

Travelling solo has been a dream of Lauren’s since she graduated from university, but she was apprehensive about going on her own, until she realised that she’ll never get to see the world if she waits around for someone else.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Lauren Pears (@laurenpears_) on

“I've learned that if I wait for someone else to drum up the time, money and interest to accompany me on a trip I want to take, I'll never end up going! Particularly for this bicycle journey, I didn't know of anyone who wanted to join me. So I went by myself. In many ways, I actually prefer solo travel as I can do my own thing and I don't have to make compromises with anybody else. 

“Solo travel seems to be romanticised all over travel blogs and Instagram these days, which I think makes it easier to find inspiration and confidence to do the same.”

Lauren took on one of her biggest adventures to date as she cycled from London to Istanbul this summer, which was the journey of a lifetime for the writer.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Lauren Pears (@laurenpears_) on

“I've cycled through some beautiful scenery, met some amazing people, and visited some of Europe's greatest cities. Bratislava and Istanbul were my favourite cities, whereas the Wachau Valley in Austria and the Djerdap Gorge in Serbia were the most spectacular sights.

“It sounds cliche, but I really do feel like I learned a lot about myself. Cycling solo nearly every day gives you a lot of time to just think, and so I've managed to come to terms with a lot of problems from my past, and feel that my confidence and independence have grown. I felt a huge mixture of emotions over the past three months; loneliness, joy, liberation, pride, anxiety… It's been quite the whirlwind.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Lauren Pears (@laurenpears_) on

The challenge seemed daunting at first but Lauren was met with nothing but support and kindness throughout her travels. She was greeted with open arms and friendly faces as she cycled across Europe by herself.

“Nothing bad happened. Nothing bad even almost happened. It just reminded me that I'm a perfectly capable person who can take care of herself. I'm aware that cycling solo comes with some risks, but I always listened to my instincts and took precautions.

“I remember cycling past the Serbian border feeling very defensive – a lot of people had told me that Serbia was an unsafe country and that I should be extra careful there. It turns out that Serbia is home to the most fiercely warm and hospitable people I've ever encountered on my travels, and I shouldn't have listened to other people's misconceptions. People would shout "welcome to Serbia!" as I cycled past; a truck driver handed me some oranges at a petrol station; I was greeted with coffee or juice at every campsite I stopped at. The world isn't out to get you, as some people seem to believe.”

The main aim of Lauren’s solo cycle was to raise awareness about sustainability and eco-friendly travel. She hopes to show people that you can see the world without relying on trains, planes and automobiles.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Lauren Pears (@laurenpears_) on

“I wanted to find alternative ways of travelling; ways that didn't harm the environment so much. My dad is a keen bicycle tourist, having cycled through Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. I'll also never forget the day he said "I'm going to go to the Pyrenees," packed a tent and some clothes on his bike and went! 

“He made me realise that cycling is a feasible – albeit slow – way of exploring a region, and has little to no impact on the environment. And, given that continental Europe is just across a narrow stretch of sea from England, I realised I could take my bike across and cycle the entire continent. So that's exactly what I did. Plus, it's a lot cheaper than interrailing!”

Lauren hopes her adventures will encourage people to be more eco-friendly when they travel.

We should be positively impacting the environment, local culture and wildlife when we travel, not causing more harm to them.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Lauren Pears (@laurenpears_) on

She advised eager travellers, “This can be as basic as ensuring you don't litter, respecting the local culture and wildlife, and to shop and eat locally. It can also be bigger things such as thinking about how we travel. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an eco-friendly flight. And, if you travel, it’s likely you use aeroplanes. Wherever possible, try to use land-based modes of transport to get from A to B – not only will this reduce your carbon footprint, but you’ll also get to see more of the country! If it’s not possible to avoid flights, try to take direct flights wherever possible. Layovers are worse for the environment as take-off and landing use more fuel than when the plane is cruising.”

You can follow Lauren’s solo adventures on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Read more about her travels on her blog.

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Tinder has taken new steps to protect it's LGBTQ+ users from prejudice abroad with a feature designed for safe travel.

Despite the fact that more countries are making vital strides towards equality worldwide for the LGBTQ+ community, there are still 70 countries that persecute individuals for sexual orientation and gender identity.

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA) has said that there are 69 UN member states where same-sex sexual activity is criminalised.

Thankfully, Tinder is putting this prejudice at the forefront of people's minds by taking steps to ensure the safety of its LGBTQ+ users when travelling.

The dating app announced that LGBTQ+ users will receive an alert when entering a country which has discriminatory laws.

Tinder refers to the feature as 'Traveller Alert' in a new blog post explaining their latest technological advance.

“It’s no secret that we believe everyone has the right to live how they want to live and love who they want to love.

"And while there are still efforts to protect our freedoms from LGBTQ+ discrimination, it’s important to remember that there are still nearly 70 countries around the world that have laws effectively criminalising LGBTQ+ status."

A notification will appear warning users of the sexual orientation laws in their current location and the risks they may face for expressing their orientation openly. 

“Starting today, we’re rolling out a Traveller Alert that will appear when Tinder is opened in one of these locations to ensure that our users are aware of the potential dangers the LGBTQ community faces – so that they can take extra caution and do not unknowingly place themselves in danger for simply being themselves,” the post adds.

LGBTQ+ users can then choose whether to leave their Tinder profile public or not in a nation which is volatile towards gay people.

Their sexual orientation or gender identity won’t be public information until they’ve left the country.

“Based on your geographical area, it appears you’re in a place where the LGBTQ+ community may be penalised,” Tinder’s traveller alert reads.

“We want you to have fun, but your safety is our number one priority. Please proceed with caution and take extra care when making new matches and meeting with people you do not know.”

While this marks a temporary limitation on meeting potential matches, the alert is grounded in a real threat of persecution from law enforcement agency workers going undercover on the app, laws criminalising same-sex activity and other Tinder users hostile to the LGBTQ+ community.

ILGA provided Tinder with data to create their update, and released a statement on the new feature.

“We work hard to change practices, laws and attitudes that put LGBTQ+ people at risk – including the use of dating apps to target our community – but in the meantime, the safety of our communities also depends on supporting their digital safety,” explained André du Plessis.

Homophobia is still an epidemic in society, despite progress occurring with equal marriage and representation.

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This is straight out of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror, except if he was more into beauty and cosmetics…

For her Dazed Beauty magazine cover, Kylie Jenner had her game switched up when the publication used actual artificial intelligence created solely with a computer to create her new look.

It's INSANE. The whole idea was to put the most popular beauty trends into one lewk by using AI programme Beauty_GAN. The programme uses an algorithm to create beauty looks from Instagram trends…are we living in 3019?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Kylie (@kyliejenner) on

In Kylie's case, 17,000 trends were used to achieve her cover image. Pastel-pink hair, eyeshadow colours fading into one another, overdrawn Cupid's bows and light matte pink lipstick. It's a lot…

The gal kind of looks like she's melting…but it's still pretty cool. We sense that MUAs and influencers will be trying to emulate this look through their makeup skills soon enough.

AI program Beauty_GAN digitally applied hair and makeup to Daniel Sannwald's photos of Jenner, and the results were shared in the editorial.

According to Dazed Beauty, Beauty_GAN is "first algorithm of its kind, trained to create its own beauty imagery based on what it sees on Instagram." Damn.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Kylie (@kyliejenner) on

Dazed Beauty's creative director Sebastian Zimmerhackl explained why the images of Jenner aren't picture perfect, despite the technology.

The computer had to learn exactly what "beauty" is, according to the 17,000 photos it was fed. The result “doesn’t look perfect because it’s an experiment," he said.

"But maybe in the future, it is the artistic mistakes that we will remember.” That's deep, Sebastian. What does beauty even mean nowadays, especially with editing and filters?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Kylie (@kyliejenner) on

Sannwald photographed the reality TV star with almost no makeup to serve as a blank canvas for Beauty_GAN, who recruited her due to her influence with trendsetting in the beauty industry.

She recently became a billionaire as a result of her company's success; Kylie Cosmetics.

Beauty_GAN's art director Lukas Rudig stated;

“It’s a collaboration: what the machine does to her is paint her face in the way it thinks it should be in a beauty selfie. To put it in a really easy metaphor, Beauty_GAN is like a mirror of popular culture, but the reflection staring back at you might not be what you expected."

"We teach a machine to see us and what it shows us back is not always what we see ourselves.”

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Good morning only to Cardi B.

First of all, let it be said that nobody knows the ins and outs of anyone else's personal relationship, so this opinion feature is purely based off the recent chain of public events involving Cardi and her (*cough* loser) hubby.

tonight show yes GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

The infamous American rapper has hit the headlines time and time again since her meteoric rise in 2016, for a variety of reasons.

Most recently, it’s as a result of her estranged husband and fellow rapper Offset, of hip-hop group Migos.

After a string of alleged affairs and cheating scandals, Cardi announced their separation earlier this month, stating that they “grew out of love.”

That was all fine and dandy, until Saturday night, when Offset decided to gate-crash her headline show.

Oh, by the way, this was the FIRST EVER FEMALE headliner show of Rolling Loud in Los Angeles, but he decided to take this moment away from her in order to beg for her forgiveness.

He ruined the moment that was years in the making, so instead of the attention being on the rap star, it was transferred to her estranged husband.

After saying that he loved her and would do whatever it takes to get her back,  his embarrassment of Cardi did not result in reunited love. Shocker.

Naturally, he abandoned the stage to scattered boos. Of course, the internet had it’s weave snatched, and targeted her ex-husband with (semi-deserved) enraged tweets which only worsened the issue at hand.

He doesn’t need more attention than he’s getting, attention is power, and only Cardi deserves empowerment at this time.

Now where in the world could Offset have gotten the not-so-bright idea to interrupt her mid-show to roll out flowers that spelled out the words ‘Take Me Back Cardi’?

Maybe, from every rom-com ever?

Where normally the male protagonist does something unforgivable, or at least extremely disrespectful to the female character, and then carries out a grand show of his affection and apologises in public before she gives in and kisses him, cue the credits rolling?

love actually christmas GIF

Yes, I’m looking at you, Love Actually.

Most people claim that, by declaring his love for her so publicly and essentially opening himself up to media frenzy, he is profiting and capitalising off their relationship issues.

Problems which he and only he caused by cheating on a rap goddess who has worked incredibly hard to get to where she is now.

black cardi b GIF by 2017 MTV Video Music Awards

It has also been pointed out that he is emotionally manipulating her by using an audience to sway her into accepting his apology.

Needless to say, Cardi was NOT impressed with his actions. Rolling Loud are also deservedly getting dragged for allowing the whole charade to take place.

Tariq Cherif, co-founder of the festival, has even released a statement to Us Weekly saying:

"Headliners and their teams have full control of the stage and who is allowed on it during their set at Rolling Loud. The festival does not interfere with or influence a headliner’s set list. We have never and will never do anything to change a headliner’s set."

The big reunion which Offset had hoped for did not happen, but maybe the entire thing was just for publicity sake. If it was, it worked.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by OFFSET (@offsetyrn) on

He’s now firmly the focus of the entertainment media for the next week at least, and then he’ll most likely be yesterday’s news.

Anyone online who demands that Cardi return to a relationship where she was not being treated as she deserved to be need to called out for this gross error in judgement.

Offset wanted his ego stroked, and stormed into her place of work, calling to mind that absurd episode of Friends where Ross crashed into Rachel’s office with a picnic because he felt threatened by a male co-worker.

Toxic relationships become the centre of the stage, rather than the talent of the women involved. It’s as if they aren’t allowed to have love and a career.

His obvious display of toxic masculinity squashes any sense of true love, he simply shifted the power towards his side of the net by making himself the victim.

He most likely knew that his show of humiliation wouldn’t be met with joy by Cardi, but by putting himself in that position, he now has millions of fans feeling pity for him because of her rejection.

It’s a classic tactic done time and time again by people who want to have their cake and eat it too, they never hear the word ‘no’.

The entire debacle is problematic for a rake of reasons.

First of all, Cardi has been open in the past about her experiences with domestic abuse, and dating an incarcerated man. Both to escape abusive behaviours such as violence as well as poverty, Cardi B then turned to stripping.

She was in the Bloods gang from the age of sixteen, and in an abusive relationship at just 19. Exotic dancing was her key to success; her videos describing her experiences in the trade racked up millions of views online.

After already suffering at the hands of men she was in relationships with, before building up a HUGELY successful career, watching her allowing herself to be associated with a man who (allegedly…but pretty obviously) cheated on her is painful for her fans.

She is a much-loved personality whose music is an emblem of her own fiery energy.

Her music has broken hundreds of records, from SEVEN Grammy nominations, MTV VMA awards, to Billboard Hot 100 accolades such as the longest running female at the top of the charts for Bodak Yellow.

Her official debut album, Invasion of Privacy, has already broken streaming figure records and is Certified Gold in the US. She’s also a self-proclaimed feminist who believes in boosting other women, not to mention equality for men and women.

She is so unapologetic in the rap scene, dominating American charts especially because of how women relate and respond to her.

Her take-no-prisoners Bronx attitude and accent have attracted fascination and fans worldwide.

She is a figure who is far more complex than people give her credit for, and deciding whether or not to find the energy to forgive the father of your child for breaking your heart must be incredibly hard.

The day after all of this drama, the 26-year-old asked her fans to abandon their tirade against her ex, saying;

"I know I see a lot of people bashing me because I'm defending my baby's father, they think I'm gonna get back together with him. I'm not saying that I'm gonna get back together with him, I just don't like that bashing online thing.”

She’s being the bigger person after having her gig interrupted, suffering infidelity and humiliation as a result of his actions, and yet he thinks he deserves to have her back?

If he actually cared about her at all, he would give her the peace needed to heal from the damage which he has caused, and leave her the hell alone.

Cut off the negativity and toxicity from your life, and you will see how much you are worth. Only you can decide your worth, not some guy who thinks it’s okay to cheat on someone as amazing as you.

Cardi doesn’t waste her time, she doesn’t waste her money, and she certainly shouldn’t waste her life on someone like Offset.

Rant over, mic dropped, bodak yellowed.

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These features are either ridiculous or ridiculously expensive – so why do we want them so badly?

1. An aquarium sink

hh 1

2. A swing-set table

hh3

3. A bathroom with a terrifying glass floor

hh4

4. An indoor slide

hh5

5. A town in a kid’s room

hh6

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